Today’s special author guest is international thriller author William McGinnis and we’re chatting about his new suspenseful sea adventure, Cyclops Conspiracy: An Adam Weldon Thriller.
Bio:
A California native, William McGinnis grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. From his youth on through college and graduate school, McGinnis seized every opportunity to sail San Francisco Bay and raft and canoe rivers throughout California and beyond.
At Richmond’s Harry Ells High School, he presided over the chess club, served on the senior board, competed in impromptu and extemporaneous tournament public speaking, and wrote poetic, satiric and philosophic tidbits.
Making lemonade out of lemons: When he graduated with a BA and an MA in English literature from San Francisco State University, Bill applied to every junior college west of the Mississippi only to find that there were literally no teaching jobs to be found. This turned out to be one of the best things that’s ever happened to him.
Instead of teaching, Bill wrote “Whitewater Rafting,” which was published in 1975 in hardcover and softcover by Quadrangle: The New York Times Book Company. The first thorough guide to the art of river rafting, Whitewater Rafting was considered the bible of the sport for decades and was reprinted many times.
Also in 1975, with two rafts and a $500 gift from his grandmother, McGinnis founded Whitewater Voyages, which pioneered guided rafting trips on a number of California rivers, and grew to become California’s largest river outfitter. For many, many years he and his guides took more people down more California rivers than any other rafting company.
In recognition of his many contributions to the sport of rafting, in 2000, Bill was named one of the “Top 100 Paddlers of the Century” by Paddler Magazine, the leading national paddle-sport publication.
McGinnis published the original “The Guide’s Guide” in 1981 and the greatly expanded “Guide’s Guide Augmented” in 2006. To this day, this comprehensive work serves as a bible for professional river guides all over the world.
While he has a slew of first descents and pioneering raft runs in California and throughout the world to his credit, McGinnis says it is his influence on guiding that he is most proud of. The essence of good guiding, he says, is “…appreciating, nurturing people. Helping them move from fear to confidence to joy, from being a stranger in a group to bonding, from feeling cut-off from nature to feeling in love with and at one with this planet, and from being somewhat scattered inside and maybe self-critical to feeling more self-accepting, more whole, more energized, more alive.”
It’s been said that we gain experience—and eventually wisdom—by making mistakes. This certainly applies to Bill. At least the making mistakes part! One such near-death misadventure is described in his short but terrifying ebook, “Disaster on the Clearwater: Rafting Beyond the Limits.”
More recently, McGinnis has been pouring his love of adventure, skill with words, and joyous sense of fun into taut, rip-roaring, upbeat thriller novels. These include: Whitewater: A Thriller (the first Adam Weldon Thriller), Gold Bay: An Adam Weldon Thriller, Cyclops Conspiracy: An Adam Weldon Thriller, and, coming soon, Slay the Dragon: An Adam Weldon Thriller.
McGinnis’ other works include, “Sailing the Greek Islands: Dancing with Cyclops,” “The Class V Briefing,” and numerous magazine articles.
Welcome, Bill. Please tell us about your newest release.
Cyclops Conspiracy, above all, is a taut, fast-moving, international thriller guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. But at the same time, it is much more:
–In the course of the story, the reader is treated to a guided tour of the Greek islands via sailboat, with detailed maps included.
–The reader learns about—and is likely to fall in love with–sailing and a rich array of modern and traditional sailboats.
–Any thriller needs danger and bad guys. In the novel this role is played by extremist religious terrorists. Cyclops Conspiracy provides an in-depth, well-researched look at this very real, deeply troubling subject.
–In the course of all of the above, the novel explores male-female relations in today’s world. On a deep level, it’s a sometimes playful, sometimes serious, just-plain-wonderful love story.
—Cyclops Conspiracy is, above all, a thoroughly fun, rip-roaring, uplifting page turner!
FYI: This is from the book’s description on Amazon:
“Nuclear bombs are being smuggled in suitcases by Islamist terrorists on under-the-radar sailboats through the Greek Islands on their way to multiple key targets in Europe and America.
“Can ex-Navy SEAL Adam Weldon and his girlfriend, an FBI sharpshooter, join forces with a mesmerizing Interpol drone expert to stop the planned destruction?
“Set in the Greek Islands and Washington DC, this taut thriller delivers twists and surprises that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very last page.”
What inspired you to write this book?
In the course of skippering a sailboat through the Greek islands, it struck me: What a great setting for a what I love to read and write—a thriller novel! It also struck me that such a story could provide both a thoroughly fun read and fascinating explorations of Greek geography and culture, sailing and sailboats, Islamist extremism, and the drama of modern male-female relations—which often aren’t easy! Throw in my favorite characters–ex-Navy SEAL Adam Weldon and FBI undercover agent and sharpshooter Tripnee—and you’ve got a terrific tale.
What’s the next writing project?
During COVID, I’ve been on a roll writing Slay the Dragon, the fourth novel in the Adam Weldon series. (By the way, each book in the series stands alone and the books can be read in any order.) Here is a back-cover blurb for Slay the Dragon, which is very close to completion:
“China’s relentless strategy of all-out unrestricted warfare—with the willing participation of bought-and-paid-for US elites—is bringing America to its knees. Can an ex-Navy SEAL, a tech-genius Chinese dissident, an Oakland cop, and a Silicon Valley billionaire save American democracy and put China on a better path? To find out, plunge headlong into this rousing, upbeat, rip-roaring Adam Weldon thriller.”
What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)
Life in the modern world is so full of distractions! My biggest challenge is staying focused for the months and months that it takes to complete a novel.
I have a small caveat: Because my novels take place in the real world of today—those times when I lose focus and start randomly reading the news etc. very often lead to me stumbling serendipitously upon information that fits right into my story.
If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?
I do research before and throughout–and sometimes hire editors with specific expertise to check for errors and fill in any gaps. For Cyclops Conspiracy, I selected an editor who is an expert in radical Islamist terrorism.
A challenge I face in this regard: one of my guiding precepts is, “Either you’re writing or you’re not.” Unfortunately research doesn’t feel quite like writing, but of course it is an integral, essential adjunct.
What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.
These days I’ve been doing most of my writing in a big, comfortable chair with a desk that swings in place in front of me. The desk has my laptop and is covered with notes, books, pens, reading glasses, and thermoses of hot tea and cold beverages. For when I’m on a roll and can’t get up, I have some nuts and dried fruit within reach.
It just so happens that I surreptitiously described my writing space in chapter 4 of “Gold Bay,” the second book in the Adam Weldon series:
Shortly after Peace was kidnapped, Adam enters his uncle Peace’s house in El Sobrante in the San Francisco Bay Area:
“… The house was the same as always. The rooms overflowed with sturdy furniture that the two of them had made together. Peace’s love for flat table space–for writing, trip packing, projects–was much in evidence. Comfortable chairs in conversational groupings recalled times of warm camaraderie.
Plopping down in Peace’s favorite chair, Adam found his eyes growing moist. Within reach were his uncle’s familiar array of pens and writing tablets, switches for the forest of nearby reading lights, piles of books, and quantities of Dollar Store reading glasses. He felt the deep pleasure of home, but also another feeling. What? A lingering exasperation with the old coot?”
What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?
Some writers–and their characters—who helped inspire the Adam Weldon series: Vince Flynn’s Mitch Rapp, Lee Child’s Jack Reacher, and Mark Greaney’s the Grey Man. Other favorite writers more-or-less in my genre: Ken Follett, Michael Connelly, Elizabeth George, Janet Evanovich, Carl Hiaasen, Tim Maleeny, John Lescroart, and Shelley Adina.
Some of the various books I’ve enjoyed recently: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb, Antifragile by Nassim Taleb, The Stealth War by Robert Spalding, “The Bully of Asia” by Steven W. Mosher, The Deep Rig by Patrick Byrne, Unmasked by Andy Ngo, and Ken Streater’s Be the Good: Becoming a Force for a Better World.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?
Chaucer wrote, “The life so short, the art so long to learn.” In other words, life ain’t easy. So here’s a suggestion: While we strive to cope, grow, contribute, care, and nudge the world in good directions, let’s enjoy the ride—and stay in touch with our core amazement at being alive!
Thanks for being here today!
Thanks so much for the invitation and great questions! It was a pleasure!
For decades my favorite thriller writer was Ian Fleming and my hero was James Bond. But now I have discovered an even better writer – Bill McGinnis – and my new favorite protagonists are Adam and Tripnee. Keep writing Bill, keep writing!!